Paradigms in Physics: Quantum Mechanical Sensemaking and Self-Efficacy

This project aims to serve the national interest by improving undergraduate quantum mechanics education through evidence-based instructional design that supports students’ sensemaking and self-efficacy. As a foundational subject in physics, quantum mechanics is important for advanced study in physics and for developing future talent in quantum information science and engineering, a rapidly growing field with broad national importance. In quantum mechanics, where concepts are often abstract, key instructional challenges include supporting students in developing sensemaking strategies that help them judge when their work is correct and relevant and building self-efficacy that strengthens students’ confidence in problem-solving. These strategies are essential for meaningful learning and sustained engagement. This IUSE Level 2 Engaged Student Learning project plans to investigate how students’ sensemaking practices and self-efficacy develop across an undergraduate quantum mechanics course sequence and to design and refine instructional materials that form a coherent and targeted sequence of supports for sensemaking and self-efficacy throughout the curriculum. These materials will be open-source, modular, and accompanied by implementation guides to facilitate widespread use. This project will be conducted within the Paradigms in Physics program, a long-term, NSF-funded curricular reform project that features a variety of active-engagement teaching strategies and an existing curricular dissemination site. Building on evidence-based instructional practices in undergraduate physics, this project aims to create a sustained and scalable impact that improves quantum education, broadens participation in quantum science, and advances national efforts to prepare students for the future quantum workforce. This project has two central goals: (1) to examine how undergraduate students engage in and develop sensemaking strategies and self-efficacy in quantum mechanics, and (2) to design and disseminate evidence-based instructional materials that promote sensemaking practices and self-efficacy throughout and beyond the quantum sequence. The scope of the project will be longitudinal and cross-sectional, following undergraduate physics majors across a multi-course upper-division quantum sequence and into post-graduation. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the project plans to examine how students’ sensemaking and self-efficacy evolve over time and how instructional experiences shape these developments. Guided by these findings, the project plans to design, implement, and iteratively refine instructional materials aimed at fostering sensemaking and self-efficacy throughout the quantum curriculum. This project also has the potential to contribute to theoretical frameworks that connect the cognitive and motivational aspects of learning in advanced physics contexts. Project evaluation will be supported by an external advisory board that will provide formative and summative feedback on research design, data analysis, and instructional materials. Project outcomes and instructional resources will be disseminated through national physics education platforms and an open-access curriculum website to facilitate broad adoption. The NSF IUSE: EDU Program supports research and development projects to improve the effectiveness of STEM education for all students. Through the Engaged Student Learning track, the program supports the creation, exploration, and implementation of promising practices and tools. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2539516 | Program: 04002627DB NSF STEM Education | Principal Investigator: Yangqiuting Li | Institution: Oregon State University, CORVALLIS, OR | Award Amount: $743,868 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2539516 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2539516.html